Don't get me wrong, I have a great deal of respect for all of you. Whether you're just starting out or you've been with this since the '90s, you're doing something that I'm not: posting your hard work on the internet to be lifted on high or torn apart.

That being said, I have a couple of things to suggest to you brave souls. First, if you're new to flash making, please don't say something like, "It's my first flash, so please be gentle with your criticism." I consider myself a critic, my medium being the Flash portal. I feel I would be compromising my integrity as a critic if I did not rate every video/game based on the same standard. Whenever I review a game or video, I ask myself questions such as, 'Was I entertained,' and 'Do I feel this was worth my time,' to help determine the rating that I will give it. The rating system is not designed to help your self-esteem, it's there to give you a good idea of how your work is being received by the general public. As you post your work, keep in mind that everyone has the right to their own opinion. Don't post something if you don't want to hear people's honest opinions about your work. Also, I would recommend that you don't post anything that you are not satisfied with personally.

Secondly, not everything you make has to be posted on-line. I realize that everyone gets excited about their first flash; I'm sure the feeling is akin to the first time made the screen print, 'Hello world,' in my first programing class. Not everything you make needs to get submitted to the portals. For instance, making a stick figure wave in a loop should not make it to the site. Keep in mind that the better games and movies on the site often have at least a month's production time on them. Give yourself some time to make something worth seeing/playing.

I don't know if anyone's going to read this, but if you are a flash maker, please, think twice before posting crap onto the portal.